트랜스랭귀징 관점에서 바라본 한글과 영어의 공존: 전북특별자치도 전주시 언어 경관을 중심으로

The coexistence of Korean and English from a translanguaging perspective: Focusing on linguistic landscape of Jeonju

This study explores the linguistic landscape of Jeonju City in South Korea through the theoretical lens of translanguaging, focusing on how Korean and English are interchangeably and translingually used in public areas, especially on signboards. To achieve this goal, 35 university students enrolled in a History of English course documented and analyzed examples of mixed Korean-English signs across the city. From an in-depth qualitative content analysis, two major themes emerged: 1) commercially-oriented translanguaging and 2) translanguaging for local identity. The first theme showcases the instances where English is strategically employed to enhance brand images and distinguish from other businesses. The second theme reveals that regional dialects are often hybridized with the English language to both express their local identity and evoke an exotic appeal for tourists. These findings shed new light on how translanguaging in the semiotic landscape of a city is not simply an act of mixing linguistic codes but rather a complex semiotic negotiation of new sociocultural meanings. Based on these findings, this study contributes to the advancement of linguistic landscape research and highlights the importance of considering translanguaging approaches in English education in South Korea.